


we're doing fine (we're doing nothing at all)

by pirateygoodness



Category: Batwoman (TV 2019), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Domestic Fluff, F/F, Gen, Post-Crisis On Earth-X Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pirateygoodness/pseuds/pirateygoodness
Summary: Kate's mouth twists, trying to cover a smile, but she can't help herself. Her lips twitch into a little smile that ends in a bigger one, and even through her mask Kara can tell it meets her eyes. She's not sure why that matters, but it does. "We did it," Kara says. "And you did so good!"Kate looks down at the ground, scuffs the toe of her boot across the gravel. "Thanks," she says. She's so stoic, so not like Kara who's practically bursting to go over the details of their fight, to play-by-play the ways everyone contributed and how nice it was to work as a team. Kate accepts her praise with the quiet, polite discomfort of someone who isn't quite used to receiving it.It makes something stir in Kara's heart, an urge to fight Kate's self-deprecating spirit. Kate is cool and brave and she's got the best haircut and Kara wants to give her a million compliments a day.
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Kate Kane
Comments: 14
Kudos: 177





	we're doing fine (we're doing nothing at all)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional.

"Kate!" Kara says her name like they're old friends; like they've known each other for ages. In a way, they have. Time is fuzzy at the Vanishing Point - it was either days or months or years they spent together, chipping away at each other, trying and failing.

Now that everything has been reset, that time hardly even feels real. There's a part of Kara that wants to put it to the side, pretend it was all just a bad dream. But then Kate walks across the pavement, her cape swaying as she moves, and Kara's heart leaps and her whole body tells Kara what she knows to be true: that's her friend Kate. 

It happened. They are old friends, now. 

Kate's mouth twists, trying to cover a smile, but she can't help herself. Her lips twitch into a little smile that ends in a bigger one, and even through her mask Kara can tell it meets her eyes. She's not sure why that matters, but it does. "We did it," Kara says. "And you did so good!" 

Kate looks down at the ground, scuffs the toe of her boot across the gravel. "Thanks," she says. She's so stoic, so not like Kara who's practically bursting to go over the details of their fight, to play-by-play the ways everyone contributed and how nice it was to work as a team. Kate accepts her praise with the quiet, polite discomfort of someone who isn't quite used to receiving it. 

It makes something stir in Kara's heart, an urge to fight Kate's self-deprecating spirit. Kate is cool and brave and she's got the best haircut and Kara wants to give her a million compliments a day. 

Then Alex comes over, then Barry and J'onn and Kara hasn't had a chance to talk to Nia yet but she did an amazing job and Kara can feel herself getting pulled away, towards her family. She reaches out and wraps her hand around Kate's suit at the wrist. The leather and armour creak together under her hand. Kate meets her eyes as though the contact startles her. "Hey, don't go anywhere okay?" Kara says. "Not without saying goodbye." 

Kate holds Kara's gaze just a little too long; just long enough that Kara starts to get embarrassed over even asking. "Yeah," she says. "Sure." 

Eventually, they all drift back to their own lives. 

(Just for the night. They're going to meet Barry in the morning, and Kara's still angling for Paragon Brunch but it sounds like it's going to just be work.) 

(Which, really, is Barry's loss. Kara has so many questions about this new earth and one of them is specifically about whether savoury breakfast waffles are still a thing and she doesn't see why they couldn't all rediscover that together.) 

Barry and Kal leave first, smiles and then a gust of wind where they used to be. Everyone else wanders off at their own pace: Sara and Ray texting their shipmates, J'onn offering Nia a ride back to her apartment. Eventually, it's just Kara, Alex, and Kate. 

"Hey," Alex says. She puts her hand on Kara's shoulder, exactly the same way she always does after a fight like this. It hits Kara down in her bones; she just saw Alex this morning but she also hasn't seen Alex in months and she missed her, so much. "I'm gonna head back, is that alright?" 

It is. It should be. But Kara's chest gets tight at the thought of it. "Would it be okay if you, um. Are you busy tonight?" 

Alex nods. She remembers now, and Kara doesn't really know what that means because she technically didn't exist while Kara was stuck at the Vanishing Point but she's looking at Kara like she knows that Kara needs sister time. "I'll come by your place once I'm done," is all she says. Kara can't tell if Alex already had the evening free or if she's mentally rearranging her night for Kara, and normally that would worry her, but tonight she needs Alex so badly that it sort of doesn't matter. 

"Thank you," Kara says. She puts her hand on top of Alex's, presses Alex's fingertips down into her shoulder for a moment. Then she releases, and Alex takes her hand back.

Now it's Kate and Kara, alone. 

Kara hears the crunch of gravel under Kate's boots, looks up to see her looking away, a little embarrassed. "Everything alright?" Kara asks. 

"Look, I don't want to intrude on sister night, I can just -" Kate starts. She sort of trails off, censoring herself as she jerks her thumb backwards over her shoulder. 

"No," Kara says. "No, it's not intruding, it's - debriefing." 

The mask covers Kate's eyebrows, so Kara can't see her raise them, but she can see the way Kate's expression shifts into something that clearly conveys a different interpretation of the word _debriefing._ It shouldn't be charming, but it kind of is, and if that isn't just so perfectly Kate of her - Kara rolls her eyes. " _Not_ like that," she says. She feels her cheeks warm up, like she's being flirted with. 

Kate shrugs. "Your word, not mine." 

"I just meant - I don't know. I don't want to only hang out when there's a giant world-devouring antimatter monster threatening the universe. Do you?"

Kate laughs. "You know, I think I pretty much want to only hang out when that's not happening." 

"You see! This is my point," Kara says. Kate's grinning at her, now that nobody's looking, big and bright. "Come to my place. We'll order Chinese, the place down the street is my favourite they have the _best_ potstickers and - oh, I hope they still exist now that everything's all, whatever it is." 

There's something about the way that Kara's expression shifts that makes Kate close the distance between them, throw her arm around Kara's shoulders. "In that case," she says. "Let's find out if they still exist, together." 

They do exist, and Kara definitely tells the man taking her order that she loves him, right in front of Kate. She gets a quadruple order of potstickers, and fried rice and sweet and sour chicken and this noodle dish that Kate asks for and the food hasn't even been made yet but Kara's warm down to her toes just thinking about it. 

Kara hangs up and hugs her favourite throw pillow as tightly as she can. "Oh my god I missed good food so much." 

Kate's still wearing her bat suit. They took a detour on the way home to collect her motorcycle; she has spare clothes in a gym bag. Knowing Kate brought her own clothes was a bit of a relief, Kara can't imagine Kate feeling comfortable in anything in her closet. "You can get changed," Kara says. "If you want." 

Kate frowns. "I just didn't want to be rude, since you're still -" 

"Oh!" Kara says. "I can also, um." It's then that it occurs to her that her apartment only has one bathroom and no bedroom door. "Why don't you get changed first." 

Kate takes her gym bag into the bathroom, and Kara taps her glasses twice. The suit dematerializes, nanites peeling it away until she's left in her underwear and sports bra. They tickle, just a bit - Kara bites back her usual giggle. 

There's something about being half-naked just a room away from Kate that makes her feel a little shy. She hurries for the first clean sweater she sees and a pair of her most presentable sweatpants. Kate's still changing, that's - well, that's fair. That suit looks really complicated to get in and out of, especially without any powers. "Kate?" she calls out. Kate _mmhmms_ acknowledgement from the inside of the bathroom. "I'm going to walk over and get dinner, you okay?" 

Kate calls out her agreement. 

Kara makes a point of actually walking the three blocks for dinner, this time. National City is new but it's also still hers. Her apartment is the same, the pizza place down the street looks just like it used to. The sidewalk feels the same under her feet, the air still smells like city and salt and the clouds just before it rains, and that's more comforting than she can put into words, even in her own thoughts. 

The middle-aged couple who run the Chinese restaurant are still there, just as they always were. Kara thanks them, tips them twenty percent and tries to hold herself back from telling them that she loves them again. "I love your potstickers," she says. "So much. Thank you." 

They chuckle at her, and wish her well, and call her _Miss Danvers._ The bottom of the bag is hot against her palm and she holds it there, breathes in the smell of her dinner and lets herself enjoy being back in a place that feels like hers. 

She gets back to her apartment and Kate is there, dressed in jeans and an oversized sweater. Her hair is sticking up a little from being inside the helmet, the product in it keeping it tousled. Kate smiles, takes a big breath in as Kara sets the bag down on the counter. "Oh, it smells so good. I didn't realize how hungry I was." 

Kara shrugs. "I mean, I have to eat as much as basically three of you because of my metabolism, but there's something about a good boss fight." 

Kate unpacks the bag, while Kara finds plates. Her back pocket buzzes: it's Alex, running ten minutes late and she's super sorry and has Kara already ordered dinner. Kara laughs.

"What is it?" Kate asks. 

"Oh, it's just - " Kara takes a breath, not quite sure what to say. "It feels really good to be home." 

Kate nods. "Yeah," she says. "I know what you mean."


End file.
